


Law of Serenity

by clickbait_official



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bad Ending, Clickbait, Escape, Metaphor, Other, Poetry, Robot, Trapped, Violence, bird in a cage, escaping, poem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28239606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clickbait_official/pseuds/clickbait_official
Summary: I wasn't supposed to be born. Only a law away, she said, and she'd have killed me. At least, that's what she told me. Maybe she was just trying to get in my head.Mother wasn't always like this, y'know. She used to be happier, and never faked a smile.She used to have hope.Oh well.





	1. Prolouge

Bird In A Cage

She’s a bird in a cage.   
Built with wings,   
But cannot use them.  
She doesn’t know how. 

Her body is weak and frail.  
It would be so easy for her to fly away.  
She is so very tired of this world,   
So very tired of its people.

She has been living here too long.  
She wants to leave this place forever.  
She longs to be free from her cage,  
But there’s only one key.

She’s restless like a bird in a cage,  
Longing for the day she can be free.  
To touch the sky,  
And to reach the heavens.

Her cage is her world and her mind is the key.  
One day, she will break free.  
All it will take is a simple thing.  
Jump, shoot, tie and swing. 

This is what she wanted, right?  
It will all begin tonight.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Run away quick, that's what they said to me.

I wake with a start. The nightmares were bothering me more recently. Perhaps it’s a sign.   
But I have no time for the future.   
Mother always told me I wasn’t supposed to be born. Only a law away, she said, and she’d have killed me. I wasn’t supposed to be here. At least, that’s what she told me. Maybe she was just trying to get in my head.   
Father was never really there when I was a child, and I barely even remember him. All he left behind in his death was a strange treehouse that he never told Mother about.   
Mother wasn’t always like this, y’know. She used to be happier, and never faked a smile.   
She used to have hope.   
Oh well.   
That’s no excuse for how she treated me, though. I’m rather tired of being the dirt on the bottom of her shoe. I’m no Cinderella, and I most certainly don’t have a fairy godmother.   
No happy ending will ever head my way.   
Luckily, I have legs.   
There’s still hope, if only a sliver.   
Perhaps a way to describe my situation would be like a bird in a cage.   
Built with wings, but can’t use them. I don’t remember how.   
But I can still run with or without my wings.   
Tonight, I will escape.   
~*-~*-~*-~*-~*-~*-~*-~*-~*-

Mother sent me to the market today. With what little coin I could find, I was able to buy myself a loaf of bread.  
Putting down the groceries, I grabbed my father’s old hunting bow and my set of knives I had gotten after begging my parents to get me one. Right before it all collapsed.   
I made Mother her dinner, not that she’d be back anyway. Probably at the bar again.   
I noticed a bag of assorted seeds right before I made my getaway. I took them with me and ran.   
I decided to run away to where Dad’s treehouse was.   
It was a strange invention, seeing as how he had never told anyone but me. It had all the things a regular house would need, but was twice the size and fairly inconspicuous.   
Climbing up the frayed rope, I felt the memories rushing back. Dad hammering the last wooden boards. Me sitting on a newly-made swing. Good times. Simple times.   
Walking across the boulevard, I notice that the town is on fire. I didn’t notice before in my escape.   
Heh.   
Mom was always a pyromaniac.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape, they said, escape.

I don’t remember, and I don’t care to remember.  
I don’t remember, and I don’t care to remember.  
I don’t remember, and I don’t care to remember.  
I don’t remember, and I don’t care to remember.  
I wake with a scream. My thoughts are the only thing I need to be scared of. The only thing I need to be scared of is myself.   
I take a deep breath, calming myself down. No one else will.   
I don’t remember my past, I don’t need to. I’m a new person.   
A new person, I tell myself as my stomach reminds me of my situation.   
There’s still a loaf of bread where I put it on the counter last night. To my surprise, nothing broke in to get it.   
Time to start the day.   
I plant the seeds in various pots scattered around the treehouse.   
Then I spill some.  
“Worthless.”  
“You can’t even do anything right, can you?”  
“You’ll never amount to anything if you can’t even do this.”   
“Éùg åg’¬ ∫∫tg xtù˚ hwùßg.”(1)  
What?  
I remind myself that Mother’s not here anymore, that she can’t hurt me with her scathing words.   
I get a dustpan to clean up the seeds. Maybe one day I’ll be free from her. Just not today.   
It could be a lot worse, y’know. I could be dead. And other people certainly have it worse.   
I work in silence for a while, contemplating my situation.  
But it's just the way things are now. I can’t change it, so why bother? I have to move beyond my childhood, beyond her.   
I am not my mother. I am me, and shouldn’t that be enough?  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I continue on with my day, which includes mostly cleaning out the treehouse and finding food for the night. Eventually I settled down for the night.  
But the dreams still find me, regardless of where I hide.  
When I wake up, it's in a cold sweat. I look around and nothing has changed. The house is still. I go to the window and peek outside.  
Nothing has changed there either. Why do I have that feeling something changed while I was asleep?  
I shake my head. A dream left me with that feeling of unreality, and now there's nothing but a vague sense of longing in my heart.   
Must have been a dream. Nothing that good could ever happen to me. This isn't a fairytale.   
But deep down in the pit of my stomach, I don't believe that.   
There's always tomorrow.  
I enter dreamland again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) But it's not your fault


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help us, please, they whisper through the shadows.

Stop it, stop it, stop it...  
You need to move on.   
But the tears won't stop.   
Why won't anyone help me?  
Stop it, stop it, stop..!  
Why won’t it just go away?   
Why does it hurt every time?  
You’d think it’d numb by now.

The sun rises again. The world still turns.  
I need to stop being so weak.   
I'll continue living like this and I'll die here. No one will come save me, and no one will mourn my death.  
I can't let that happen...  
I have to get up soon.   
But the sunlight... It feels so warm and comforting... And I want to feel that way forever...  
The wind blows softly... The birds sing... The grass grows...  
Why can't this world go on forever?  
I have to wake up now.   
But I don't want to…I want to stay in this dream forever...  
I have to wake up now.   
But why?  
But I want to stay in this world... In this dream... Just a little while longer...  
I have to wake up now.  
Why can't I be happy?  
The morning light spills through your window.   
I have to get up now.   
I can't go on living this way...  
I close my eyes and stay that way until the tears stop coming.  
I have to move on...  
I sit up in my bed.  
The covers slip off of me and I stand, staring at the floor.   
I'm not sad anymore... I'm strong now... I won't cry... I have to go on...  
A new day begins.

I’m going to live my life as it should be lived, no matter what. I’ve been through enough for one lifetime.  
And that's all I can do right now.  
I need more food. I need to hunt. I grab my bow and leave the treehouse. It takes a few minutes, but eventually I find something edible. It's time to head out into the world again. After about an hour of hunting, I manage to catch a rabbit. At least it’s something.

Over time, as I become older, stronger, and wiser, I learn the many languages of the animals.   
Some are friendly, some are hostile, but all of them have their place in this world. I have been studying the beasts for a long time now, and I can tell that they all share one thing in common: They want to live. That is why they are so loyal to those they love. It’s why the humans aren’t. It’s quite sad, if I really think about it. I learned not to.   
I have also been watching the village for a while now. It has changed a lot in that time. There are more soldiers, and they wear armor and they use more weapons.  
A new government has been established. It's worse than the last one. The people are miserable. The people are oppressed even more, and there is less freedom.  
It makes me sick to watch it. One of these days I'm going to show these oppressors what it really means to cause harm.  
But not today. Today I get to enjoy my freedom, and that's something to be thankful for on this darkest of days. I walk through the woods and find an old bench. I sit here on the bench, in the woods, thinking about all of this.   
The soldiers marching through the village, taking their tyranny even more ability to oppress the people who only want to live out their pitiful lives in peace.  
Freedom is a very fragile thing, and it is constantly under attack. It can be fought for, defended, but it cannot be taken. It can only be lost due to stupidity, blindness, or arrogance.   
I shake my head, wondering why I'm thinking about these things.  
I'm a predator. I hunt and kill for food. I have no love to give, no happiness to gain. I do not sit here to decompress. I do not ponder the meaning of life. I do not care about humanity.   
But sometimes... Sometimes I think I am more. I think there is a part of me that wants to be something else, but that's just it. There’s a part of me that wants to be free, but I'm not brave enough. I'm not strong enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not... anything enough.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hunt begins.

Day turns to night.   
I hear the soldiers in the distance. They are shouting at each other. It would appear that their comrade is dead.  
I move from the bench.  
I wait patiently, hidden in the bushes.  
It's time to take another life.  
I look out at the small group of soldiers. Three of them stand around a body, which I can only assume is their comrade. They don't notice me. They are too busy arguing.  
One of them is screaming at the other two. I can't make out the words, but I don't need to. It's enough that I know he's screaming at them. He wants to be in charge, but he knows that he isn't.  
I should feel sympathy for these soldiers, perhaps for the loss of their comrade. I don't, and that's why I'm going to kill them all.  
I step out of the shadows. "Who are you?" I hear one of them shout. I step forward, into the moonlight.  
There's an instant where I'm sure all thought leaves every head. There's an instant where all of them know what I really am. Adrenaline spikes as they all reach for their weapons.  
And then there's another instant, where they're all too late. I'm on them before they can even react, and their fear is already replaced with terror.  
It's the perfect time to attack.  
I lunge forward, grabbing the soldier closest to me and breaking his neck with one quick motion.  
I twist, throwing him off me. I'm on the ground, rolling towards the next soldier. His gun is pointed at me, but before he can react my hand is around his throat, pressing in. I feel his windpipe snap under my pressure, and he falls to the ground.  
I turn to the last soldier, who is pointing his gun at me. I step forward, knocking it out of his hands. I step forward once more, running my hands around his throat. I press in, and his pulse slowly stops.   
They're dead. They're all dead.  
Good riddance.  
I stand, and walk off into the woods.  
The day ends on a better note.   
I wake up from a sleep, feeling the sun on my face. I sit up, looking around me. I'm in the middle of some trees. I wonder where I am. I remember the events of yesterday. I've started a rebellion.  
I feel an exhilaration run through me, followed by a sickly sweet rush. I know what I have to do.  
May the gods above have mercy on my foes.  
The Hunt has begun.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voices whisper in the darkness.

Over the course of approximately five years, I almost manage to completely decimate the new ruling. By that time, the monarch is out for blood and somehow manages to capture me.   
"I'm sorry," he says as his face contorts into a look of pure hatred. "But you're not going anywhere."  
I slowly raise my hands up in surrender. This isn’t going to end well.  
The king then proceeds to brutally torture me until I pass out from exhaustion.  
When I wake up, it's in a cell. I look around and notice I’m all alone.  
Two additional days pass as I stare at the dirty, damp walls of the cell I’m stuck in.  
On the third day, I hear footsteps approaching. I vaguely wonder if it could be the king, to finish the job. I wait in nervous anticipation. The cell door opens and a single person enters.   
It's the king. He sits down in a chair across from me and I’ve finally reached your limit of how much more of this I can take.   
"I thought about killing you myself," he says in a conversational tone.   
"But then I decided you'd teach me about how you did it. There are kingdoms far worse than mine, and I want you to destroy them."  
He tells me that he's in the process of gathering an army-- a force strong enough to end the tyrannical rule of the other three kingdoms.

He says he's so close to being ready that he'll be able to launch an invasion within the next year. He then looks at me and continues his speech.  
"Now you may be wondering why I'm telling you all this, specifically. My answer is because I want you to lead that invasion."  
I freeze. It's the last thing I expected him to ask.  
"Why would I do that?"  
The king slowly gets up from his chair and walks towards the cell bars. He puts his face right in front of my own, so that I can feel his hot breath on my face.   
"Because you're a hero."   
A chill runs down my spine.   
"If you do this then your name will be remembered for centuries to come. You'll be a hero."  
He steps back and sits down in the chair.   
"I'm also giving you free reign to do with the other kingdoms as you see fit. They don't really matter anymore. So I'm giving them to you. But only if you help me."  
I know his words are probably some sort of trick, but I’m done trying to figure it out. I’ve been tortured long enough.   
"I'll do it. How do I begin?" The king smiles slightly.  
"You'll have an army in a week. Have fun."  
Then he leaves me alone in the cell.

It was the only way I could get out alive.  
Surely I’m not at fault here.  
You should be dead.  
You shouldn't have taken his offer.  
You reset your progress and for what?  
It was the only way out.

At first, it was actually scary and exhilarating. I was doing something good for someone. I conquered lands, set up new military bases and made it rain justice for the people.  
But then something changed. I’m not quite sure what, but something did. I learned more about the king's research and discovered that he was actually doing experiments on me.   
He's been trying to make himself immortal. The fool. Doesn't he know that's impossible? Well, it probably isn't, but it's impossible to accomplish what he's trying to do without messing with the science of death.  
It was around this time that I started hearing these voices. Not during battles where my mind was focused on the fight. No, these were different. They came at night while I slept and they would scream in my head.   
It got to the point where I couldn't sleep anymore. I would take drugs in order to fall asleep, but they did nothing.  
The nightmares before were nothing compared to this.  
I would have to force myself to stay awake during the day instead. The voices also started coming at those times.   
Sometimes, they were in sync. Other times, they would argue with each other. It was like a never-ending conversation going on all around me, but I was all alone.  
The king slowly went insane soon after.  
His subjects grew agitated. More and more rebellions started popping up. In order to keep everyone in line, the king started increasing his military strength and began working on more war machines and weapons.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The explosion.

Soon, it was made more apparent that the king was losing his mind, but I had been too for quite some time.  
I wasn't sure when it started, but I was very aware that it had. It was around this time that the king decided I had to go.  
It was also around this time of the arrival of Domino, a revolutionary from one of the other three kingdoms. She came with a very violent crusade that would require the unification of the four great military empires, earning the moniker of “The Executioner”. I thought she would be bratty and entitled, but she was just like me.   
She … saved me.   
She saved me and someone else. I think her name was E? And when our trio was going into the throne room to attack and kill the king, a very strange thing happened.   
We killed the king, but going out into the hall we noticed that the guards didn’t do anything. Time was frozen.   
Outlandish computers surrounded us, and I could feel my conscious being pulled away from me. All three of us were pushed into a robot, with E being the primary presence , Domino being the secondary presence, and myself being the tertiary presence. The last thing I remember was the sight of our planet imploding and thinking it was a beautiful sight.   
Then everything went black.


	8. Epilouge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The End.

We float through the stars. Something is whispering to us, each time sounding louder and louder. We can sense that something is watching us, but we are unable to understand what it wants. As if the voices are trying to tell us something, but we just aren't listening.  
We learn to love the stars. The stars love us in return. We are the remnants of what was our planet.  
Life continues, and so do the voices. We live on the corpses of our old planet, far from any kind of civilization. The voices stop eventually, leaving us alone in the vast blackness.

Falling. That's all we feel.   
We are falling into a new world. We have no idea what's going to happen, but we can't help feeling we just might survive this.  
And maybe, just maybe, we can finally have a happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmm noice i did it


End file.
